eSCENE 1996: Lucy Harrison

lharriso@mailer.fsu.edu

"Sanctuary's for the Birds"

"Born in Stratford-on-Avon, England (yes, the birthplace of Shakespeare), I moved to Denver, Colorado on my tenth birthday. I came to Florida in 1988, decided I liked it, and stayed. I enrolled at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and signed up for a creative writing class with Harry Crews. I've been writing ever since (well, in-between jobs and school). Currently I work as a reference librarian at Indian River Community College in Ft. Pierce, Florida, answering questions on every topic under the sun.

"Damon Sauve, editor of Oyster Boy asked me to write something for the fall '95 issue, as I had for the two previous issues. This story was the result of a trip to Cedar Key, Florida, where my boyfriend grew up. I wrote it out longhand, because I didn't have a computer at the time (still don't), and then transcribed it into electronic format at the computer lab. This story would be vastly different if it weren't for Damon, who forced me to rewrite the ending several times. SEVERAL times. Next time I'll use the U.S. mail to send my stories to him -- done electronically, it's too easy for him to tell me to redo it!"